I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

Qianqing Palace, Warm Pavilion.

Hong Xiguan looked at Suo'etu kneeling before him, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Song'etu, have you thought it through?"

Hong Xiguan fiddled with the jade thumb ring in his hand, looking at the young man who was only a few years older than him with a half-smile.

"You refuse the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and insist on coming here to be a gatekeeper. If word gets out, people will think I'm being mean to the descendants of meritorious officials."

Soetu knelt on the ground, but his back was straight.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with determination and fanaticism: "Your Majesty! The position of Vice Minister of Personnel may be prestigious, but that is Ao Bai's Ministry of Personnel, not Your Majesty's! I do not wish to be Ao Bai's dog!"

"Suksaha is dead, and the Plain White Banner is in a state of panic. Now, in this court, apart from the Emperor, no one can save the Plain White Banner, and no one can save the Qing Dynasty!"

"I resigned from my official post to cut off my own escape route, and became a bodyguard to offer my life to the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to be the sword in your hand! Whoever Your Majesty commands me to cut, I will cut! Even... Ao Bai!"

Hong Xiguan smiled.

He stood up, walked over to Suo'etu, and personally helped him up.

"Good! That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear!"

Hong Xiguan patted Suo'etu on the shoulder, his eyes sharpening.

"Song'etu, you made the right move. Although Sukesaha is dead, he left behind tens of thousands of elite soldiers of the Plain White Banner, as well as those middle and lower-level officials who were suppressed and full of resentment. Now they have become ownerless ghosts."

"They need a new master."

"And you are the vanguard I sent to incorporate this force!"

At that moment, the hands of the emperor and his minister clasped tightly together.

Soetu's defection was not merely a personal choice, but also a political indicator for the high command of the Plain White Banner.

This means that the Plain White Banner, driven to the brink, finally gave up its illusions and decided to stake its entire fortune and life on this seemingly weak young emperor.

......

After eliminating Suksaha, Aobai's power reached an unprecedented peak.

No one in the entire court dared to look him in the eye.

Hong Xiguan seemed to be completely terrified, and for more than half a month he did not mention any political affairs. He spent his days indulging in the harem and the imperial garden, either teasing the concubines or playing martial arts with the group of young guards.

That afternoon, Hong Xiguan summoned Ao Bai again.

The location was still the Imperial Garden.

When Ao Bai stepped through that familiar moon gate, his feelings were completely different from last time.

The last time he came, he was three parts wary and seven parts testing the waters;

This time, Ao Bai walked with ease, and even had a faint smile on his lips, like a lion surveying his territory.

Sure enough, in the distance, he saw that familiar scene again.

The young emperor and a group of guards were wrestling and playing on a felt rug, kicking up dust, sweating profusely, and making a lot of noise that could be heard from afar.

Ao Bai shook his head, his contempt deepening.

"He's a hopeless case."

Ao Bai smiled dismissively and strode over.

"Ao Zhongtang is here!"

When Hong Xiguan saw him, his eyes lit up, as if he were a little fan meeting his idol.

He rushed over excitedly before he could even wipe the sweat from his brow, grabbed Ao Bai's hand, and looked at him with fervent admiration.

"Lord Ao, I've had some free time these past few days, so I had someone bring me the Veritable Records of the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Shizu! I... I've come to realize that you, Your Excellency, are the true pillar of our Great Qing Dynasty, the true First Baturu of Manchuria!"

Ao Bai was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, Hong Xiguan's flattery poured out like a flood.

"I remember you following Emperor Taizong in battle, braving the Ming army's cannon fire, being the first to jump onto the city wall of Pi Island and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy! In the Battle of Songjin, you won five battles in five battles outside Jinzhou, routing the Ming army! You even personally led the Bordered Yellow Banner Guards, decisively defeating Hong Chengchou's 130,000 reinforcements, chasing them all the way to the sea, leaving corpses strewn across the fields!"

Hong Xiguan spoke with great passion, spittle flying everywhere, his eyes gleaming.

As Ao Bai listened to these glorious military achievements, which he already knew by heart, being spoken by the young emperor, an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and pride welled up in his heart.

These are all honors I earned with my life!

"After entering the pass, Your Excellency Ao pursued Li Zicheng's bandit gang relentlessly, capturing four cities and persuading the surrender of thirty-eight others! You inflicted heavy losses on the Shun army in thirteen battles in Henan and Hubei, making unparalleled contributions to the Qing Dynasty's conquest of the Central Plains!"

"And then there was the Battle of Xichong! You personally led your elite troops, slaying the notorious bandit Zhang Xianzhong amidst a vast army, and pacifying Sichuan! You destroyed over 130 of the Great Western Army's camps, and the captured horses and mules piled up like mountains!"

"And another thing! When Emperor Taizong passed away, if you hadn't stepped forward with your sword drawn at the crucial moment in the struggle for the throne, using force to intimidate Dorgon, my Great Qing Dynasty would probably have already split apart, and I wouldn't be where I am today!"

Hong Xiguan, like a most enthusiastic storyteller, recounted the most glorious moments of Ao Bai's life in great detail.

Ao Bai was overjoyed and his blood was boiling. He felt as if he had returned to that era of war and strife, and his blood was burning.

Looking at the young emperor who worshipped him so much, the last bit of wariness in his heart completely vanished.

He felt that the emperor truly "understood" him!

"Lord Ao!"

Hong Xiguan took a deep breath and said in an extremely sorrowful tone:

"The more I look at it, the more horrified and ashamed I become! You have rendered such unparalleled service to our Great Qing, yet your title is merely that of a second-class duke and tutor to the crown prince! This... this is too low! This is simply an insult to the greatest meritorious official of our Great Qing!"

With that, Hong Xiguan waved his hand sharply and announced in an unquestionable tone, "I have made my decision! Effective immediately, Ao Zhongtang is promoted to First-Class Duke! The title shall be hereditary!"

boom!

These words struck Ao Bai like a thunderbolt!

First Class Duke!

Hereditary succession!

This means that as long as the Qing Dynasty does not fall, the wealth and glory of the Guarjia family will be passed down forever!

What an honor this is! This is the ultimate dream that so many Manchu nobles have longed for!

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Even a ruthless and cunning man like Ao Bai was too excited to speak at this moment. He knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling with sobs.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor! Your Majesty is wise! I would gladly die for you!"

"Get up! Get up!"

Hong Xiguan personally helped him up, then took two steps back, assuming a wrestling stance, and stared intently at Ao Bai:

"Lord Ao, you are the foremost warrior of Manchuria! I am currently practicing martial arts and have long wanted to test your skills! Come! I wish to spar with you!"

Ao Bai was taken aback, then waved his hands repeatedly, a smug smile on his face:

"Your Majesty is of utmost importance. No, no! I am not careful with my strength. If I were to injure Your Majesty, it would be a crime punishable by death."

He was telling the truth. In his eyes, wrestling with the emperor was no different from crushing a chick.

"Haha, I knew Ao Zhongtang would say that."

Hong Xiguan didn't force them, and turned to the group of young guards, shouting, "You! Come here!"

"Don't you always boast about your martial arts prowess? Come on! All of you, come at me together and spar with Ao Zhongtang! Let me show you what a true Baturu is!"